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• STREAM WATER QUALITY <br />The physical and chemical characteristics of Parachute Creek <br />follow a consistent pattern of good quality in the upper stream <br />with increasing degradation, exacerbated by irrigation and sub- <br />sequent drainage through salty soils before entering the Colorado <br />River. <br />Analytical reports of chemical and physical water quality indicate <br />that surface waters from the project site are typical of water <br />quality for mountain streams in sparsely populated areas. The <br />water contains very little organic material relative to inorganic <br />material. Average concentrations of inorganic constituents from <br />streams, springs, and seeps within the site, collected during <br />the spring of 1974, are as shown in Table G-6. <br />Seasonal variations in surface water quality do occur at the <br />• project site. Past studies have indicated a slight seasonal <br />variation in concentrations of oil and grease. Nitrates and <br />fluorides also exhibited seasonal variations with the high <br />concentrations occurring during the fall (Metcalf s Eddy, 1975). <br />Long-term water quality data obtained from selected locations <br />along Parachute Creek and the Colorado River indicate that, <br />at the present time, man's activities downstream of the Colony <br />site have the greatest effect on Parachute Creek water quality. <br />The quality of the water leaving the project site is approximately <br />the same as the quality of the Colorado River. The water which <br />leaves Parachute Creek at the confluence with the Colorado River, <br />is of lower quality than that in the Colorado River. Parachute <br />Creek has higher concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS), <br />SO4--, Na+, and Mg++, but lower concentrations of suspended <br />solids and almost the same turbidity as the Colorado River. <br />it is considerably more saline than the Colorado River itself, <br />• as indicated by the TDS readings. <br />G-14 <br />